According to the NJ Building Together web site: "The meeting will focus on the $5 million Sustainable Communities Initiative grant from HUD to create a "Regional Plan for Sustainable Development" to promote stable and inclusive communities and an environmentally sustainable region. The purpose of this plan is to influence the direction of an estimated $30-$40 billion of state and federal dollars that are needed and expected to be invested in housing, water and transportation infrastructure over the next decade.

The entity created to fulfill this grant is called TOGETHER North Jersey (TNJ) housed at the Voorhees Transportation Center of the Bloustein School at Rutgers University (see www.togethernorthjersey.com). Building One New Jersey (BONJ) is a major partner in this initiative and is helping organize a series of conversations across our region about TNJ and the future of north Jersey.

As you know, New Jersey's older communities and towns are vital, diverse and at the heart of the American Dream - towns like Bloomfield, South Orange, Montclair, West Orange, Maplewood, Clifton, and Belleville. Yet we face huge challenges from a slow economic recovery and the absence of federal and state policies that support communities like ours. Over the past year, through BONJ, a group of local elected officials and citizens from our area has been discussing ways to work together to make sure our collective voices are heard in Trenton and Washington in order to build a better future for our towns.

This event and the TNJ initiative is an opportunity for us to build support for policies to help towns like ours. The phrase "stable and inclusive communities and an environmentally sustainable region" means different things to different people. We believe it means investing infrastructure dollars in diverse, inclusive and transit friendly communities like ours while promoting regional cooperation and a better balance of housing to bring working families within reach of good jobs, schools and transportation."

The public is welcome to attend, but seating is limited. To RSVP, please contact Councilwoman Susan McCartney at smccartney@westorange.org.

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - A woman was the victim of an armed robbery in Maplewood on Friday afternoon, according to a statement from Maplewood Police Chief Jim DeVaul. The suspects, who were arrested on Friday, are believed to have also committed similar incidents the same day in South Orange and Irvington, stated police.

According to Maplewood police, a woman was walking alone in the area of 51 ...

NEWARK, NJ – Six members of the Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang were arrested last week for their alleged roles in a major drug trafficking organization that dealt heroin in and around Newark.

Tyrone Brown, 34, Lamarr Burwell, 22, and Miles McCloud, 37, all of Newark, and Martin Pettiford, 23, of Irvington, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to ...

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - The South Orange 8th grade boys basketball team went from "worst to first," winning the Suburban Essex League championship on March 9, according to an update from the South Orange Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs (SODRCA).

The update from SODRCA stated, "For a team that went winless (0-14) last season, winning the Suburban League Boys 8th ...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Tree branches that fell as a result of the recent storms were originally to be collected by the Maplewood Department of Public Works (DPW) through Friday, March 16, but an email from the DPW on March 15 stated that branch collection would now be extended until Friday, March 23.

According to the previous email, Maplewood residents are asked to "please ...